The Perfect Ending to Our Crappy Story
by ashangel101010
Summary: Inspired by "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and set after season six. Riven decides to take a potion to forget about Musa, but his subconscious has misgivings.


The Perfect Ending to Our Crappy Story

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Suggested Theme:

Main Theme- King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men

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Riven knows that he is lying in some mossy cave with a heart-shaped potion bottle by his prone form. He also knows that he is alone. So why is he in the empty courtyard of Alfea? Shouldn't he be sent into a dreamless slumber and awaken to have no memories of Musa? He didn't ask the specifics from the old woman, but she guaranteed that he would forget about Musa when he wakes up.

"You bought a potion from a woman who was also peddling poisoned apples in the same cart. You're lucky to be only remembering, or is it forgetting?" Musa's voice causes Riven to turn around. She's in her Bloomix form. Her long, indigo hair swishes around her purple tights and gossamer cape. She looks like the Queen of all the Fairies.

"What are you doing here?" Riven knows that he should be asking what was he doing here. However, seeing Musa again, makes a familiar torrent of tormented emotions to arise. He took the potion to forget her, not to see her again.

"To answer your question, you're in your mind and I'm your subconscious." This explains why he's at Alfea; it's the place where they share a lot of memories together. It's also the place where they amicably broke-up.

"Why are you Musa? If you're my subconscious, you should know that she is the last person I want to see." Additionally, if this was really his subconscious, then shouldn't Musa be wearing "less" clothes?

"You've never seen Musa naked and your imagination is quite impotent, and this happens to be the only outfit that you liked on her. I'm Musa because I represent the part of you that doesn't want to forget her!" Ah, that mean-edged logic could only come from himself. Musa doesn't go out of her way to be mean, sarcastic, but not mean.

"Boo-hoo, I, or rather you, hurt your feelings. What matters right now is that your have to follow me because I have something to show you." Musa points to the double door of the college. Riven rolls his eyes and decides to indulge the whims of the figment of his imagination. He hopes that this is just a side-effect of the potion.

They are inside the foyer of Alfea. The grand staircases made of marble are there like he remembers. He also remembers that a fight with soap and water happened here back when he was just a freshman loner.

"Okay, sit there." Musa points at the bottom of the staircase. Riven sits down with surprising obedience. Musa sits right next to him. She claps her hands and a screen appears inside the room.

"If you wanted me to watch something, we could've just gone to the Projection Room." Riven doesn't quite remember the name of the room, but he remembers its purpose because Musa once talked about how she learned about the Wizards of the Black Circle in that room. It was just insignificant details of a conversation between them.

"You may know the layout of the college, but you don't know what the room looks like. You probably wouldn't even remember if you saw it because it's just an insignificant detail compared to everything else." Riven is getting very annoyed at the telepathy his subconscious is employing.

"Fine, I'll stop reading your mind, even though we're in it, so I can get to my point. Why do you want to forget about Musa?" Riven scoffs at her like he was the freshman again that was "dating" Darcy.

"You mean you?" Musa rolls her eyes, which is something Musa would do whenever he said something stupid.

"I just took on the guise of Musa; I'm not her. She's real. You still haven't answered my question." Like any therapist that wasn't Helia, Riven scowls at her. He hates to give an answer, but he has to if he wants to get this over with.

"I want to forget her because I can't find myself if I'm constantly thinking about her." Musa doesn't laugh like the real Musa would at the corniness of his answer. She threads her moon-colored fingers through her hair like black silk. It's a gesture that Musa rarely uses, but he loves it when she does this.

"So you want to forget even the good times with her?" Musa waves her hand across the screen and images appear like a movie. There is an image of him singing for Musa about a year ago. There's another from two years ago at the Frutti Music Bar when they were celebrating the Wizards' defeat. Another from almost three years ago when he was rescued by Musa after Valtor captured him. One last one from four years ago when he was too embarrassed to approach Musa, but Flora convinced him to. All of them were fairly happy memories.

"I have to forget her if I want to find myself." Riven repeated with equal parts of determination and stubbornness. Musa huffs at his prideful manner.

"You realize that without her you wouldn't have changed at all. Remember." Musa waves her hand again and the images change. There is an image of him trying to tell Musa how he felt, which was rare at the time because he didn't like revealing his feelings. Especially after his time with Darcy. There is another where Musa is comforting him after Nabu's death. She held him when he couldn't stop crying. The last one was of him learning how to play music for Musa. He did a lot of things he would've never done without her.

"You forgot to show our break-up, which was perhaps the most selfless thing I have ever done in my life." Riven also did that for her, partly for himself, but mostly for her. They could be friends, but he doesn't want that right now. He needs to forget her and focus on making himself a better hero.

"I don't think it has quite sunk in what would actually happen if you forgot about her. Most of your emotional growth stems from her. And, technically, also from Helia, amongst other confusing feelings, but I'll put a pin in it and save it for another occasion." Riven purposely disregards the last part in favor of trying to prove Musa wrong, which has worked as "successfully" as always.

"You speaking in third person is starting to grate on my nerves." Riven is trying to change the subject because he doesn't want to know the answer. He would like to remain in a state of blissful ignorance. However, like most of the time, Musa doesn't oblige him.

"Remember, I am not the real Musa. I'm just your subconscious that looks like her, so it would be pretty insulting to the real Musa if I was her. Also, changing the subject won't get you out of this." The staircase begins to shake like an earthquake has hit the campus again. Riven has a feeling that the potion is finally taking effect.

"That would be the potion trying to breach your memories. I still have one more piece of evidence to show you." Musa waves her hands again and the images change again. This time he is shown all of his worst moments. There is an image of him making Musa cry back when he was with Darcy. Then another where he ignored Musa on that stupid ski trip. Another where he mocked her dream of music because he was jealous of Jason Queen. He was angry and sulky like his mother.

"I don't like that person. You certainly don't like that person. However, you will be that person again because of the potion." Alfea shakes again, but this time much more violently and giant cracks begin to appear on the sunlit floor.

"Surely, I have grown on my own. I wouldn't have left Musa if I didn't realize on my own how inadequate as a protector as I was for her." More shaking causes Musa to grip the steps tightly. The real Musa would have…..no this what exactly what she would've done now. She can't rely on him anymore. She never really did.

"Maybe, but the growth wouldn't have been as exponential if you never met Musa. She's the one that inspired you to grow up. If you forget her, then all of that growth is virtually gone. Much like this place will be in another few earthquakes." Riven falls off from his step and almost lands face-first into the cracking ground. Musa is able to catch his cape and yank him back onto the trembling steps.

"Is really forgetting about her linked to the destruction of this place?" Riven knows that he sounds very sarcastic and biting. Musa glares at him, but not because of his sarcastic tone.

"Yes, you fool! When you forget someone who changed your life, like Musa, then you are destroying a part of yourself! Are you really okay with destroying yourself in order to find yourself?" Musa's voice is almost lost to the next set of tremors, but Riven hears her quite sharply.

"No." It took him nearly six years to become a better person. Maybe not the best boyfriend, but he isn't that jerk overfilling with hatred towards everyone and everything.

"Okay, you can actually stop the potion because it's made of magic like a spell. All spells can be broken!" Riven can recall a few lessons on breaking spells. The best and easiest (in his opinion) is a kiss from your true love. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a true love anymore.

"Yeah, Red Fountain didn't teach you how to use magic that well, but you were taught how to break it. True love is not here, but you have your willpower." Another earthquake causes part of the roof to fall through and hit the foyer's floor. Riven can see an abyss of darkness in the crater.

"And how am I supposed to use my willpower? It's not exactly like using a sword." Musa grabs Riven's hands. She peers into his dark eyes and smiles.

"Remember, I'm the you that doesn't want to forget Musa and was able to conjure up this world to convince you too. I'm just a small part of you. If you will yourself out of here, then you'll wake up." Riven briefly looks up to the leftovers of the roof crumbling right above them.

"One last thing, does this mean I should try and win Musa back? She was the reason for my change." The roof gives a mighty crack like a skull in Helia's hands.

"No. You shouldn't forget her, but you shouldn't be with her. It's time for you to rely on yourself rather than on her for change. Just don't forget about her." The roof caves and falls on top of Musa-

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Riven lurches back into the waking world and immediately sticks a finger down his throat. He purges the potion out of his stomach. He looks at his vomit and almost whimsically realizes that the vomit is red; it is as red and sparkly like the poisoned apples in the old woman's cart. Musa's favorite color is red, which is why Riven actually bought the potion in the first place.

He gets up and wipes the remaining spittle onto the back of his sleeve. He knows that he'll have to find somewhere else to sleep because the stench of the vomit is bothering him. He leaves without any certainty where he'll go. However, he leaves knowing that he didn't make a huge mistake. He chooses not to forget about Musa. He chooses to accept the ending and face it rather than running away from it. He has made a very mature decision. Just like with his break-up.


End file.
